BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride 2013

I've split the ride into sections based on how I logged it with Strava. I split it up into sections because I wasn't sure if my phone battery would cope with such a long ride. In the end it coped admirably with juice left to spare. You can find the GPS data for the individual sections by clicking on the Strava links below.

Mrs7t even got out of bed of early to take a quick snap of me as I was leaving the house.

Westminster to Clapham Common (6.8km) (strava)

I left Westminster at 6.30am and took a very gentle ride down to Clapham Common to find the official start area. Before the ride started I had time to find the toilets, eat a banana, soak up the atmosphere and then meet up with the rest of team downtown.

We were given, as requested, a start time of 7.30am - The good thing at this event is that it's not a strict start time. You can start anytime after your allocated slot. So once we had met up and queued at the start gate, we finally got to the start line at about 7.45am.

Clapham Common

L2B - Clapham Common to Carshalton (12.6km) (strava)

We moved quite slowly as the mass of riders worked their way through the pancake-flat streets of South London. The roads here were open as usual to other traffic but we stuck with our relaxed pace and an hour later we had arrived in Carshalton, where we had a quick pit stop.

L2B - Carshalton to Burstow (28.6km) (strava)

Once we left Carshalton the riders had started to space out quite a bit so we were able to pick up the pace slightly. The flatness of South London slowly started to give way to some undulating terrain. The first real hill that we encountered was How Lane, but due to the sheer number of riders we had no other choice but to walk up the hill - very disappointing because I had been reading about the hills beforehand and was very excited about tackling them.

four fifths of the team

After this we continued on at a better pace. Every now and then the marshals were managing the junctions, but it generally worked ok. As a team we mostly stayed together, but every time we hit a hill we would spread out slightly as we each rode at our own comfortable pace. So a little stop was in order every now and then to regroup.

Just after passing the village of Smallfield, we decided it was time for a quick pit stop. We ended this section at the 'First Burstow Scouts' headquarters. The time was somewhere around 11.25.

L2B - Burstow to Ditchling Common (27.4km) (strava)

We departed Burstow Scouts' headquarters at 11.38 and it was now raining, that's if you can call it rain - it was really just spots of water in the air. In fact, it was quite refreshing. This next section was a gradual uphill drag until hitting Burgess Hill, where it got steeper. Up and up we went until we arrived in the village of Burgess Hill - It's a significant psychological point as it is means you have reached the half-way mark. We stopped here, but only to regroup. The road goes downhill out of the village but soon enough you are back into the lower gears as you hit the next incline.

the pit stop before the beacon

Downhill is the general theme of the rest of this section. At 1.30pm someone in the team decided that we were due a break and the spot that was chosen was either a stroke of genius or just pure luck. We were only about 4 kilometres away from the part of the ride that most people have been warned about - the Beacon!

L2B - Ditchling Common - Brighton (17.6km) (strava)

The first time you see the South Downs looming in front you of is shortly after Ditchling Common and it is an amazing sight. It doesn't take long to reach the point where you are shifting down into the lower gears. The road zig-zags its way up and the gradient varies every now and then. My GPS data shows the steepest section as being a 30.6% gradient. I'd say that at least 80% of the people I saw on the incline had resorted to walking. Although it was hard work I just kept pushing on, and as you get closer to the top you are rewarded with the most amazing views. Then before I knew it the gradient reduced and I was at the top.

congestion on the beacon

At the top and almost everybody seems stops for a rest and you have a lot of congestion to deal with. We had agreed to regroup at the top so I pulled onto a bank at the side and kept an eye out for the rest of the team. Finally we all found each other and one of our team members opened a celebratory bottle of beer, from which we all took a well-earned sip!

the whole team at the top of the beacon

From here we had 12 kilometres of mostly downhill cycling into Brighton, but four kilometers into that we were stopped and held due to a crash somewhere ahead of us (this wasn't the first crash that had held us up, but it was the most significant - It took us 2hrs and 13 minutes to cover this last 17.6km stretch). We were here for so long that I even saw a spider had started to make a web between two other bicycles. Eventually an ambulance arrived and shortly after we where back on the road to Brighton. The very last section feels like being back in London as you start to encounter heavier traffic and traffic lights again. Before you know it you can see the sea and are directed onto the final straight where the five of us crossed the line together while soaking up the cheers and applause from the hundreds (thousands?) of people that had lined Madeira Drive to welcome us.

In Brighton

We were greeted by one of our team member's parents, who had brought with them a celebratory cake (as a bonus it was vegan). We proceeded to the beach where we kicked off our shoes, had some cake and relaxed in the glorious sunshine.

cake

After an hour, it was time for me to head off on my own to find the BHF coach/lorry which I had pre-booked a few weeks earlier. The process was all very simple. I had been given two tickets, one for me and one for the bike. The lorries can hold enough bikes to cover two coaches full of riders, they put my bike on the lorry, I got on the coach. Two coaches and one lorry all drove back to Clapham Common, where my ticket was matched with the ticket on my bike. These coaches run all afternoon and depart as and when they fill up.

all done

Clapham Common to Westminster (10.2km) (strava)

Once I had my bike back it was time for the final leg of my day of cycling. The journey to Clapham was 6.8km and the London to Brighton ride came out at 86.2km. I had already ridden further than I ever had before but I was very keen to break the 100km mark. So instead of riding straight back to Westminster I took a little detour and knocked the return leg up to 10.2km, bringing the total number of kilometres up to 103.2km. (I did about 2km more but didn't log it, so 105km is probably more accurate).

Final Thoughts

I thought the event was really well organised, and there were marshals and official pit stops in all the right places. The main downside is that the event is a victim of its own success - The vast numbers of riders and the inevitable congestion takes the shine off the event slightly. Saying that, I would still ride it again. I would maybe just go for the earliest possible start time in the hope of finding the roads a little clearer.

There are more photos from the day. You can view the set on my flickr page.

London to Brighton 2013 (pre-ride stuff)

Many years ago, my Grandad woke up one morning and just decided on-the-spot to ride his bike from London to Brighton. This year he sadly passed away, so when I found out that some of my friends from Riddlesdown parkrun were forming a team to take part in the London to Brighton bike ride on Sunday 16 June, it felt right to sign up with them and follow in his footsteps, or maybe I should say cycle in his tracks.

The Bike
I'll be riding my B'twin Forme 5 (aka fitness 5). I bought it back in March and the decision to do so was mostly based on my entry into this event. The only upgrade I have made is to change the tyres. I have replaced the standard b'twin rubber with a set of special edition 'London' Schwalbe Durano Plus's - They are a lot more comfortable and are designed to be puncture resistant, so I have my finger's crossed for a puncture-free ride.

Training
My training has largely been disrupted by a slightly sore knee, which ultimately means that I haven't done anywhere near the amount of training that I would have liked. Still, that element just adds to the fun. As well as being my first cycling event, this is also the first event I've taken part in where I have never covered the distance before. And to make it worse, I've barely touched any hills. So don't mention the Beacon!

This is the training distance/time I've done over the last few months:

June:	111.6 km	6:59:14
May:	197.7 km	12:34:19
April:	197.1 km	11:32:26
March:	347.8 km	20:46:38
February:	84.4 km	5:02:22

Fund Raising
The ride is organised by the British Heart Foundation, and our team leader Nicki has set up a team fundraising page. So if you feel the urge to hand over some of your dosh to the BHF you can do so here and we will all be very grateful for your support.

My parents donated some of my Grandad's belongings to the BHF and they have already raised over £500.

The Dreaded Backpack
I was trying to avoid carrying a backpack with me, but the list of things to take kept growing to the point where I reluctantly gave in to the inevitable. I have a long, but hopefully not too heavy, list of items to carry. Fortunately some of the items are going to be consumed along the way so the bag will get lighter. I've been wearing the backpack on most of my rides lately so I feel much more comfortable riding with it.

GPS Logging
Also having a bit of an issue (hopefully now resolved) with GPS tracking. I am considering buying a Garmin but until I finally work out which one to buy I am still using my phone's GPS, and currently using Strava - which I am loving by the way. I'm not entirely sure that the battery will last the whole journey, so I've ordered a second battery and will log the route in sections based on the points that we stop for breaks. When the battery looks like it won't successfully log another section, I'll switch to the second, fully charged, battery. That's the plan, maybe it'll work, maybe not. Hopefully there will be enough juice to take some photos and partake in a bit of tweeting along the way! (I won't be tweeting while cycling by the way)

Lastly
Random nightmares aside, I'm feeling ok about it despite the awful training. I have no ambitions to finish in a particular time, just to make it to the end will be reward enough for me. The original plan was to book a hotel and spend a couple of days in Brighton with the ladies. However, this hasn't worked out and I have bought a ticket on the coach back to London - £24 gets me and the bike back to Clapham Common - I assume I'll have a very slow ride back to Westminster from here.

I'll write a full blog post about the day once it's all done. Thanks for reading.

Wormwood Scrubs parkrun

By reading wikipedia I found out that 'In 1908, the route for the Olympic Marathon went across the Scrubs on the final stages of the race from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium at White City.' Quite fitting that there is now a parkrun here. I also found out that the Scrubs was recognised as the duelling ground of London - Even though parkrun is a run and definitely not a race, I'm sure the venue has seen its fair share of parkrun duels over the years.

I arrived at the Scrubs bright and early (way too early, in fact) to join the friendly and very welcoming residents of W12 for their second birthday celebrations. Also present were the Roundshaw on tour gang, a fellow blogger and juneathon-er, and I met Banstead runner and uber-tourist Johnathan Pegg (currently on 61 different venues).

The run starts in the shadow of 'HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs' which is a category B prison - defined as 'Those who do not require maximum security, but for whom escape needs to be made very difficult'. If the prisoners have access to the windows, I'm sure they look on with envy every parkrunday.

The first thing to do was find somewhere to lock up the bike. As far as actual bike racks go, there are some way over the other side of the Scrubs near the entrance to the Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre, and one single rack in the car park that was located within a car parking space. The best options seem to be to find a post or pole nearby or to leave the bike, as I did, on the grass next to the finish line. There is also a children's playground with a nice fence, it's not too far from the start/finish areas but it's not within view of the parkrun.

If I had chosen to travel by car, I could have parked in the car park adjacent to the start area. Those wishing to travel by tube train will find East Acton station is very conveniently located for the run - just remember to check Transport for London's website in advance to make sure they aren't closing the line for engineering works. However there are underground stations in every direction so you do have quite a good selection of options if the Central Line is recieving some tlc.  If traveling by mainline train, you have a choice of Willesden Junction or Acton Main Line Station.

The Linford Christie Athletics track is just a stone's throw away and is where you'll find the toilets and the Thames Valley Harriers clubhouse - which also doubles up as the venue for the post-run social gathering, where I had the opportunity to try one of their famous flapjacks.

The park is effectively divided into two halves - the eastern half is mostly given over to sports pitches, and the west side is the scrub-land (An area of land that is uncultivated and covered with sparse stunted vegetation). The course is two laps around the scrub-land half of the park, and is run on grass and dirt paths. It also undulates ever so slightly in places.

En-route you will pass a model aircraft flying zone and if you look up you might catch a glimpse of the BT tower and the Shard far away in the distance. I'm also told that you can see the arch of Wembley Stadium, but I was so focused I didn't see any of these until I went back around the course post-run to take some photos.

The scrubs half of the park is subject to a by-law which allows the military to restrict public access if required. I don't know if this has ever affected the run but it might be worth checking their news, twitter, and/or facebook page beforehand just in case.

If you have ever run at Riddlesdown parkrun you will surely notice the similarities of some sections of the two courses, and just like Riddlesdown, this course looks like it will be a huge amount of fun to run when it is muddy! Another similarity between the two courses is the presence of nesting birds in the long grass areas that both courses weave their way around.

I was glad to be part of a new attendance record for the event, beating their previous largest attendance by 17 runners. It was also nice to watch the end-of-year prizes being given out in the clubhouse afterwards - the community at this parkrun is clearly very strong. If you're a parkrun tourist and thinking of visiting, definitely pop in to the clubhouse for a post-run flapjack and if you are local runner of any level get yourself down there every week and become part of this wonderful community!

I almost forgot to mention that the course is buggy friendly. Although it may be tough in muddy conditions.

Note: I borrowed the photo of the runners at the start line from the Wormwood Scrubs facebook page. The others were taken by me.

New Balance 1080v3

I have a pair of shoes to review. They are the New Balance 1080v3 - before I get on with my review, here is what New Balance have to say about them -

“The 1080v3 is our premium neutral shoe offering runners comfort and protection in a lightweight frame. With N2 cushioning, ABZORB crash pad and a thin, light arch-securing FantomFit quarter the 1080v3 is a very high mileage neutral shoe.”

So what do all these fancy names mean?

ABZORB crash pad & Forefoot (“Our top of line foam. A superior blend of cushioning and compression set features with DuPont^TM Engage® and Isoprene Rubber for the ultimate ride.”)

FantomFit upper (“A skeletally engineered upper that provides ultralight support and fit. Created by fusing two extremely thin materials with a no-sew process.”)

‘T-Beam’ (“A lightweight, flexible, TPU shank engineered to deliver optimum torsional stability and arch support through a unique centre beam design.”)

N2 cushioning ("Nitrogen infused N2 technology in the heel provides premium shock absorption and smooth transition into the mid-stance")

And the rest of the spec looks like this -

Weight: Men’s - 288g, Women’s – 225g
Last: PL-1 Natural 
8mm Drop (20mm-12mm)

Now my turn. 

First Impressions:

When I went to the New Balance press day for the launch of their new range, the rep from NB did say that the current trend for colour schemes is for them to be on the louder side. While not the most garish shoe you'll see this year, the blue/orange colour scheme that I have been sent certainly does stand out, and I have to admit that I am a big fan of this particular combination of colours.

The shoe itself feels nice and light, and at 288g are a tad lighter than my Adidas Boston 2 road shoes. The sole is quite rigid, but unless you're really into minimalist shoes you probably wouldn't even notice. Then again, if you were into minimalist shoes you probably wouldn't be considering these anyway. I'd say the stiffness of the sole is similar to other shoes that I have tried in the 'lightweight, long distance' category.

Putting the shoes on, they feel cosy. Even though the sole is rigid, the shoe itself is very comfortable - nice and soft. Possibly even a little bouncy. At first I thought the toe box was a tad narrow, but then I realised I had been wearing my New Balance MT10's all day, which have a much wider toe box (this also explains why the shoe feels rigid to me). Now I've spent some time in the shoe, the toe box feels fine and not too narrow after all.

The heel drop is something that interests me, these come in at 8mm, which is right in-between the traditional road shoe, usually around 12mm, and the minimal shoes, which tend to be 4mm right the way down to zero drop.

Now what you've really been waiting for. What are they like for running?

My first run in these shoes was a medium paced 6km outing around St. James's Park, in London. I mostly ran on the tarmac paths, but also spent a little time on a dirt path and on the grass.

The shoes felt comfortable all the way through the run and I have nothing negative to report. They feel fairly similar to my Adidas Boston 2 (similar weight and fit) but definitely a lot more cushioned.

I went out for a second time and tried these on the cinder running track at Regents park and they felt quite nice in that environment. 

I'll need to put a few more miles on these before reaching a final conclusion, but they have had a promising start and I'm looking forward to getting back out on the road in them.

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Disclaimer: These shoes were received free of charge and I can confirm that the views here are entirely my own.